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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421586">Love is Not Blind</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen'>Baroness_Blixen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The X-Files</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Relationship, Episode: s07e14 Theef, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, UST, bed sharing, mulder taking care of scully</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:40:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421586</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully's blindness in "Theef" lingers on.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fox Mulder/Dana Scully</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>224</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>X-Files Episode Fanfic Exchange (2020)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love is Not Blind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTheInevitable/gifts">OnlyTheInevitable</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am so grateful that I was allowed to join the exchange a bit late - thank you so much! </p><p>My prompt for Nicole was: At the climax of Theef, Scully is blind because of the voodoo doll, I would love a fic where for some reason Mulder sees her blind. Whether they cant find the voodoo doll to take out the nails, maybe it takes a while to wear off. Whatever it is, I just want Mulder to interact with Scully while she's blinded.</p><p>What an amazing prompt! I hope I did it justice. Another thank you to @Pretty__Boy for the beta!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Mulder? Is that you?”</p><p>The question surprises him; doesn’t she see him standing here, looking at her? He lowers his gun, still warm after shooting two rounds to take down Peattie. Scully’s eyes can’t focus; try to find something, maybe him, and never succeed. His stomach tightens painfully, vague fear settling in his gut.</p><p>“Scully, I’m here,” he says softly, hoping against hope that he is wrong. That Scully can see him, is just full of adrenaline and not thinking straight. He points at himself, like a child, begging her to see. But she doesn’t.</p><p>“I can’t-” she says, choking on her words, and he watches her bottom lip tremble. Whether in defiance or fear, he can’t tell. “I can’t see,” she whispers, a tear slipping from her unseeing, frozen eyes.</p><p>He waits a few seconds, uncertain what to say. Part of him expects her to grin at him, say she was merely kidding. He wants her to be kidding. <em>I’ll always keep you guessing, Mulder,</em> isn’t that what she said? Deep down, though, he knows she isn’t kidding. She’d never do that. Her eyes wander aimlessly around, searching. The ambulance arrives and Scully startles, stumbling forward.</p><p>“Hey, hey,” Mulder says, catching her around the waist. “It’s the ambulance,” he explains to her, looking at her face. She’s staring into the distance. “They’re here to take Peattie- Peattie and Dr. Wieder. I shot him. You need to be checked out too.”</p><p>“No,” she says weakly, grabbing at his hands.</p><p>“Scully,” he says softly, not letting her get away from him. The fight leaves her body and she nods.</p><p>“Fine. Let’s do this.”</p><p>At least, he thinks as he leads her outside, his grip on her tight, she didn’t say she was fine.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>They want to keep Scully at the hospital as a precaution and the second they mention it, Mulder knows she won’t listen to reason. In her case doctors really are the worst patients. Though he’s one to talk; he’s the same way. That’s why he signs the release papers for her, glancing at her every few seconds out of the corner of his eye. She’s been quiet, stoic even. Answered the doctor’s questions in a sober, no-nonsense voice. From the outside it looks as if her current blindness isn’t affecting her at all. The doctor glances at him, knowing Scully won’t be able to see it, a question in his eyes. Mulder can only shrug.</p><p>All they know is that nothing is wrong with Scully physically. There’s no apparent reason for her sudden blindness. Scully thanks the doctor before Mulder can even voice his thoughts. It was Peattie. He knows that much. He also knows that neither this doctor nor Scully will accept hexcraft as the cause of this. Helplessly, Mulder reaches for Scully’s hand and leads her outside to the car. He makes sure to walk slowly, taking baby steps. Her grip on him is tight and she is half leaning against him, trusting him to know what to do and where to go. This, he thinks, is the easy part. He buckles her seatbelt as if she were a child and jogs over to his side of the car.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” He asks before he starts the car.</p><p>“Tired,” she replies simply, wringing her hands. “I want to go back to the motel, please.” Her request is too simple and her tone is too indifferent.</p><p>“Scully, we-”</p><p>“You heard what the doctor said,” she cuts him off. “There’s nothing wrong. It might be trauma, or shock. It might be gone by tomorrow.”</p><p>It might be. He repeats the words in his mind, mulls them over. What the doctor didn’t say, what Scully isn’t voicing either, is that it might <em>not</em> be okay. That she might be blind for the rest of her life. The thought is stuck in his mind and it makes his heart beat uncontrollably fast. He looks over at her, at her profile. There’s no telling what Scully is looking at, what her thoughts are. She is keeping it all bottled up, like always. The progress they’ve made, her letting him in more and more, all gone, locked behind the isinglass windows of her eyes.</p><p>“Do you want to-”</p><p>“Mulder,” she interrupts again, this time sighing in exasperation. “We can’t do anything tonight. Can we please not talk about this?”</p><p>“I was just going to ask if you wanted to grab something to eat.”</p><p>There’s a pause following his question. They’re close to the motel already and he doesn’t know if he wants to leave Scully alone in there. Not even for five or ten minutes. If it were up to him, he’d wrap her up in a blanket, put her to bed and watch over her, waiting for her eyesight to return. For her, for her health, he has all the time in the world.</p><p>“I’m not hungry,” she answers quietly, subdued.</p><p>They spend the rest of the drive in uncomfortable silence. As much as Mulder wants to talk to her, to comfort her, he doesn’t know how. Not if she won’t let him. And right now, the distance between them is wider than a mere car console. For all he knows, it could be a wall, the whole ocean even. His hand twitches and he considers reaching out, letting her know he’s there for her. In the end, though, he doesn’t and grips the steering wheel tighter, needing to dig his fingers into something.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Mulder helps her out of the car wordlessly. His hands know exactly where to go and for once she doesn’t complain or raise her eyebrow when he slips his arm around her waist. His brain hasn’t caught up yet and so he looks at her, half a grin on his lips already waiting for her to call him out on this blatant sign of PDA, but there’s nothing. He clears his throat and together they walk towards the motel.</p><p>“Where are we going?” She asks him.</p><p>“We’re at the motel.”</p><p>“I know that,” she snaps. “I mean… which room are you taking me?”</p><p>“I was going to take you to my room.” Right now he’s glad she can’t see because he feels a blush creeping into his cheeks.</p><p>“I’d rather be in my own room, if it’s all the same to you.”</p><p>“Of course. I, um, need your key.”</p><p>“It’s in my coat pocket.” When she makes no move to take it out herself, Mulder reaches into her pocket, feeling around. The action is far too intimate, and his head is too close to hers. She must hear him breathing shallowly. His fingers come into contact with something cool and solid, so he takes it out.</p><p>“Found it,” he says stupidly and unlocks the door to her room. “Wait a second,” he says, touching her hip. “I’m just going to turn on the lights.”</p><p>“Makes no difference to me.” When he turns to her, he sees the smallest of smiles on her face. But her bottom lip quivers, trying to keep her real emotions at bay.</p><p>“Better not risk me falling over, huh? My doctor is currently unavailable.” Mulder switches on the lights so that the room is bathed in a soft orange glow. He returns to Scully’s side and leads her to the bed, kicking the door shut with his foot.</p><p>“Sit down here,” he says. “Where are your pajamas?”</p><p>“Mulder, I can do this myself.”</p><p>He crouches down in front of her and he finds they’re face to face for once. “Let me help you. Please.” His voice is so soft that he’s surprised it doesn’t break. She doesn’t answer him but finally, after what seems like half an eternity, nods.</p><p>“So? Where are they?”</p><p>“Bathroom.”</p><p>He quickly retrieves them and as he returns, seeing Scully still on the bed, wringing her hands and biting her lips, he decides he won’t make a big deal out of it. They can do this. He’s helped her before, after all. She was unconscious back then but that’s something he won’t mention now either.</p><p>“I can take off my own shoes,” Scully says and toes them off. “I can take off my pants too. Can you… can you make sure I won’t fall over?”</p><p>“Sure.” He doesn’t know where to put his hands. She’s impossibly tiny standing in front of him, fumbling with the button of her slacks. “Put your hand on my shoulder,” Mulder says, taking her hand and putting it there himself. “Just to steady you.” Somehow she manages to get out of one pant leg, then the other. They’re both breathing hard, as if they’d been out for a run and not getting undressed. Mulder keeps his eyes on her face, constantly half hoping that the milky, cloudy look in her eyes will clear and he’ll see the deep blue he’s come to love so much.</p><p>“Since you’re up already,” Mulder says, reaching for her pajama pants. “Lift your left leg.” Scully does, digging her fingers into his shoulder. “Now your right leg.” He pulls the pants up and sighs in contentment. “We did it, Scully. We’ve always been a good team, right?” She nods gently. But they both know that was the easier part. The top is a whole different matter.</p><p>“I’m going to take off your sweater, all right?”</p><p>Scully remains quiet and unmoving. “Scully?”</p><p>“I hate this, Mulder,” she says quietly, an edge of angry frustration to her voice.</p><p>“I know,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She puts her hand over his and he pauses, observing her. Her other hand finds his face and touches his cheek. Her mouth opens as if in awe as her fingers travel along his face. She needs her second hand on his face, too, and he tries to be still so she can get to know him in this other, new way. She follows the braille of his face and touches his cheekbones, his jaw, his ears. As he watches her, her fascination palpable, he wonders if she’s mentally categorizing him by each muscle, each sinew she encounters. She chuckles when she touches his nose and before she moves on, she gives it a gentle nudge. Her fingers trace his eyebrows and then she pauses.</p><p>“Are your eyes closed?” she asks.</p><p>“They are now,” he says. No longer seeing her, he gives in to feeling. Her skin against his, leaving invisible fingerprints on him, marking him as hers for the rest of his life. His eyelids flutter as her fingers move over them gently. She is thorough, his Scully. Not that he was expecting anything else.</p><p>“You’re beautiful,” she says. Her fingers take a detour and run through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp, and he has to stop himself from moaning. A moment later, her hands are no longer on him. Before he can open his eyes, though, they return. A finger lands on his bottom lip and he gasps. His lips tingle as she grazes each ridge. He thinks about their kiss, their first one. That night Scully undressed him, not unlike he did tonight. He stole another kiss before she left him to be at her mother’s. They smiled at each other then, an early morning promise, but neither has come through on it.</p><p>Yet.</p><p>“You’re beautiful, too,” he says and lets his own hands explore her face. How he loves her nose, her eyes, and her forehead. All of her.</p><p>“Mulder, what if this is irreversible?” She hasn’t stopped touching him. Her fingers are still on his lips, as if she were trying to stop him from answering, from voicing what they both fear. He kisses each finger, lingering a second longer than necessary, before he answers.</p><p>“We’ll talk to Peattie tomorrow – if he’s awake. There has to be a way to undo this, Scully.”</p><p>“But what- what if there’s not?”</p><p>“I’m not going to accept that you-“ She silences him with two fingers on his lips. So he was right; this was her plan all along.</p><p>“What if? Please, Mulder.”</p><p>“We’ll deal with it,” he says heavily, every fiber in him screaming that he’ll fight this.</p><p>“Thank you,” she says with a sigh. “We still need to get me in my pajamas, Mulder.”</p><p>“Right,” he says with a chuckle. “We need to do that. Lift your arms.”</p><p>“I always pictured this differently,” she says and her words tangle in the silk of her sweater, almost get lost there.</p><p>“What?” he asks, trying not to look down, to not see her black, lacy bra.</p><p>“You undressing me.”</p><p>He stares at her for a moment, speechless.</p><p>The corner of her mouth curls up into a wicked smile. “Still keeping you guessing,” she says.</p><p>“That you are. Do you, um – bra on or off?”</p><p>“That’s such a guy question,” she says. “Off, please.”</p><p>I’m not looking, he reminds himself as he reaches behind her and unclasps the bra. It falls away and he glances at the garment briefly before he puts the pajama top on her and buttons it quickly.</p><p>“All done,” he says, squeezing her hands. “I’ll help you into bed.”</p><p>“Mulder, I need to brush my teeth.”</p><p>“They won’t fall out if you skip it one night. Trust me.”</p><p>To his surprise, she relents. He tucks her in and kisses her forehead, then her cheek. He’d kiss her mouth if he dared.</p><p>“Scully, close your eyes,” he says.</p><p>“Why? It makes no difference.”</p><p>“Just close them.”</p><p>“Mulder?”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“You’ll stay here, right?”</p><p>“You want me to stay with you?” Rather than giving him a verbal answer, she nods. “Then I will. I’ll be over-“</p><p>“You need to sleep. The bed is big enough. Come on.”</p><p>Scully hardly ever asks him for anything so how can he say no? He quickly strips down to his boxers and his undershirt. This isn’t the first time they’ve shared a bed, and yet it’s different. This is the first time after they’ve kissed, after they made their intentions about each other clear. Or clearer at least.</p><p>“Good night, Scully.”</p><p>“Night, Mulder.”</p><p>He listens to her and makes sure she’s comfortable. It takes a while but then he, too, falls asleep.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>When he wakes, it’s slow. There’s something different. He knows it isn’t his bed, or even his motel room. The memories come floating back to him; Peattie, Scully, all of last night. When he opens his eyes the first thing he sees is Scully. Her eyes are open and she blinks at him. His breath hitches.</p><p>“Scully, are you- do you see?”</p><p>“You’re cute in the morning with your hair all messy,” she says, touching said hair. “I woke up and it was as if nothing had happened. I can see again.”</p><p>“Magic,” he whispers with a huge grin.</p><p>“Mulder, I’m sure there is a logical explanation for this.”</p><p>“Sure.” He is still grinning from ear to ear and wondering what she’d say – or do – if he were to kiss her now. “It’s logical that it was magic. Or the hexcraft lost its power.”</p><p>“It’s like the doctor said. It was shock.”</p><p>He is not going to argue with her, not today, not about this. He reaches for her, attempting to pull her closer, when his phone rings. He grumbles and instead of reaching for Scully, he reaches for his phone.</p><p>“Mulder,” he says.</p><p>“Agent Mulder, it’s Officer Sherman. We found a doll or something with-“</p><p>“A poppet?” Mulder asks, looking at Scully, who raises her eyebrows.</p><p>“A- what? A doll-like thing with your partner’s face on it. There were, um, nails in the eyes so we took them out, brought it in as evidence. Just thought we should let you know.”</p><p>“Thank you, Officer Sherman. Agent Scully and I will come by later.” He hangs up the phone and throws himself back on the bed.</p><p>“I was right,” he says and she blinks at him.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Peattie used hexcraft on you and I’ll prove it to you later. But first I have to-“ again she stops him, this time with her whole hand.</p><p>“I haven’t brushed my teeth in 24 hours, Mulder.”</p><p>“I don’t care.”</p><p>“I do,” she says and puts her finger on his lips, an imitation of a kiss. She gets up, stretches, and reveals a hint of skin. He sighs. “Mulder?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>A second later, she’s leaning over him, pressing her lips against his. There’s no morning breath. It feels like there’s no breath at all. He grins against her mouth, but when he tries to deepen the kiss, she moves away.</p><p>“Not until I’ve brushed my teeth – and you should brush yours too. We need to go down to the station and the hospital.” She touches his cheek before she disappears into the bathroom.</p><p>Mulder leans back on the bed, licking his lips and tasting Scully. <em>You really do keep me guessing</em>, he thinks and grins to himself, knowing how damn lucky he is.  </p>
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